Mateo stopped halfway down the stairs.

—Hannah… did you hear everything last night?

I calmly lifted my coffee.

—Enough.

His hangover seemed to disappear instantly.

—Sebastián was drinking. You know how those guys talk when they’re together.

I looked at him.

—Was he also drunk when he went to the airport to pick up Sofia?

Mateo’s mouth closed.

That silence told my parents there was much more to the story.

My mother frowned.

—What does Sebastián have to do with you?

—Nothing anymore.

I turned toward her.

—Call the Fu family. Tell them I’ll meet Ethan.

Three days later, Ethan Fu sat across from me in a private restaurant.

I hadn’t seen him properly in years.

As children, Ethan and Sebastián had competed over everything.

Grades.

Sports.

University offers.

Later, business.

Sebastián hated losing.

And Ethan seemed to be the one person he could never consistently beat.

But the man sitting opposite me didn’t look interested in competition.

He looked at me quietly.

—Your parents said you’re willing to consider the marriage.

—Yes.

—Why?

No sweet words.

No pretending.

Just one direct question.

So I answered honestly.

—I spent a year and a half loving someone who considered me entertainment. I’m tired of games.

Ethan studied my face.

He didn’t ask who the man was.

Perhaps he already knew.

—Then don’t marry me to punish him.

—I’m not.

—And don’t marry me because you’re hurt.

I frowned slightly.

—Then why should I marry you?

For the first time, Ethan smiled.

—Because after you know exactly what kind of man I am, you decide you want to.

That answer surprised me.

He pushed a document across the table.

It wasn’t a marriage contract.

It was a simple list.

Where we would live.

How finances would be handled.

What would happen if either of us wanted to continue studying or working abroad.

Even how property would be divided if the marriage failed.

Everything was clear.

Nothing hidden.

I almost laughed at the irony.

Sebastián had given me romance without certainty.

Ethan was offering certainty without pretending it was romance.

Strangely, I felt safer with the second.

A week later, our families arranged a formal dinner.

I wore a simple cream dress.

Ethan arrived early.

Before dinner, he handed me a small box.

I looked at him suspiciously.

—Already?

—Open it.

Inside wasn’t an engagement ring.

It was an old silver fountain pen.

I recognized it immediately.

Years ago, when I was seventeen, I’d lost it during a school competition.

—I thought this disappeared.

—You left it in the auditorium.

I stared at him.

—You’ve kept it all these years?

Ethan shrugged.

—You never asked for it back.

Something about that sentence made my chest tighten.

Sebastián had forgotten promises he made a week earlier.

Ethan remembered something I’d lost years ago.

Before I could answer, the front door opened.

Sebastián walked in.

He still wore the dark coat he’d taken to the airport.

He carried flowers.

His eyes searched the room until they found me.

Relief appeared first.

Then he noticed Ethan standing beside me.

The relief vanished.

—What is he doing here?

My father stood.

—Sebastián—

But Ethan answered calmly.

—Our families are discussing my engagement to Hannah.

Sebastián stared at him.

Then at me.

—Your what?

—I agreed to marry Ethan.

For two seconds, he looked genuinely unable to understand the sentence.

Then he laughed.

—Very funny, Hannah.

Nobody else laughed.

His face slowly changed.

He walked toward me.

—You’re angry. Fine. I understand. But don’t do something stupid just to get back at me.

I almost couldn’t believe the arrogance.

—You think I’m getting married because of you?

—You loved me yesterday.

—Yesterday I also thought you respected me.

His jaw tightened.

—What I said last night meant nothing.

—Exactly.

I nodded.

—And now you mean nothing to me.

His face went pale.

Sebastián reached for my wrist.

Before he touched me, Ethan quietly stepped between us.

He didn’t threaten him.

He didn’t even raise his voice.

—She said no.

Sebastián looked at him with open hostility.

—Stay out of this.

—If Hannah becomes my wife, I won’t.

Sebastián laughed bitterly.

—You think she loves you?

Ethan’s expression didn’t change.

—No.

That answer silenced everyone.

Then Ethan looked at me.

—But I’m willing to give her enough time to decide whether she ever can.

He turned back to Sebastián.

—You had her love already. Apparently, you decided it was a toy.

Sebastián’s fingers tightened around the flowers.

For once, he had no clever answer.

Then he looked at me.

—Hannah, come outside. Five minutes.

—No.

—I can explain Sofia.

—I didn’t ask.

—Nothing happened between us.

—I don’t care.

His voice finally cracked.

—Stop saying that!

Everyone froze.

Sebastián had always been controlled.

But now panic was replacing his arrogance.

—I made one stupid comment. You’re going to throw away a year and a half because of one sentence?

I looked at him quietly.

—No.

I paused.

—I’m throwing it away because that sentence finally told me what the last year and a half meant to you.

His eyes reddened.

Then my phone vibrated.

Unknown number.

A photograph appeared.

Sebastián at the airport.

Sofia was hugging him.

But the photograph wasn’t what caught my attention.

It was the message beneath it.

“Hannah, before you marry Ethan, you deserve to know the truth about why Sebastián approached you eighteen months ago.”

My fingers went cold.

Sebastián saw Sofia’s name at the top of the message.

His entire expression changed.

He moved toward me.

—Give me the phone.

I stepped back.

—Why?

—Hannah, don’t listen to her.

The panic in his voice was different now.

This wasn’t jealousy.

This wasn’t fear of losing me.

This was fear of being exposed.

Another message arrived.

“It started with a bet.”

I slowly looked up at him.

Sebastián’s face had turned white.

Ethan noticed it too.

—What bet? —I asked.

Sebastián didn’t answer.

Then Sofia sent one final photograph.

Seven men around a table.

Mateo was there.

Victor was there.

Sebastián was there.

And in front of Sebastián lay a photograph of me.

Underneath, Sofia had written:

“Ask your brother. He was there the night Sebastián promised he could make you fall in love with him.”

I raised my eyes toward Mateo.

My brother was standing by the stairs.

And the moment our eyes met, I knew.

He remembered everything.